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Aviation History
1980
1980 - 3726.PDF
FLIGHT International, 6 December 1980 Letters 2127 Steer clear of parachutists' airspace SIR—During the past two years the number of individuals participating in sport parachuting in the United King dom has doubled to some 23,000. Naturally there has been a propor tional increase in the intensity of operations at our drop zones, both on airfields and notified sites. These sites are promulgated in the UK Air Pilot RAC Section 5.8.1, and in most cases are notified on the 1:500,000 Aeronautical Charts by a small para chute symbol. A recent incident has highlighted a misunderstanding of the inherent dangers of flying into such airspace without prior communication. Sport parachuting takes place from heights (QFE) of up to 12,000ft, with the parachutist(s) falling into a terminal velocity of some 120 m.p.h. (176ft/sec) before opening their parachutes 2,500ft above ground level. Three months ago in the USA a free falling parachutist hit a Hercules. The para chutist was fatally injured and the aircraft severely damaged—if it had been anything less than a Hercules it is likely that the aircraft would have had to force land at best. The aim of this letter is to draw attention to this potential danger. The Safety and Training Committee of the British Parachute Association believes that, if light aircraft and gliders con tinue to fly blatantly or at random over promulgated drop zones, it is only a question of time before the American accident is repeated in this country with an equally tragic out come. The British Parachute DOUG PEACOCK Association Kimberley House 47 Vaughan Way Leicester LEI 4SG Over-specification: lessons from experience SIR—I appreciated Mr H oil's letter Qn over-specification (Flight, October 25), a subject dear to my heart, but, in my case with regard to- ground equipment. During his last days with Seaboard the late Gerry Hawtin taught us all a lesson by buying, through a non-aviation intermediary, a first class elevating platform and avoiding, in the process, unnecessary aviation refinements and the aviation add-on price. In 1967-68, in preparation for the 747, we issued simple specifications and had a design competition. We re ceived some interesting (and some im practical) ideas. Some entrants even suggested passenger steps that re sponded electronically to changes in aircraft attitude during loading and unloading. We ruled that idea out on the basis that the human being contains probably the best servo- mechanism that exists, and response would be in conflict with the margin ally later adjustment produced by the artificial one. Then the real "experts" got to work on an international scale. We ended up with equipment which, at one and the same time, had large wheels so that it could manoeuvre on impacted snow ridges; could sustain prolonged hot and cold temperature soaks; could operate in conditions of high aridity, high humidity, high salinity, or in air with a high dust or sand content; had controls which could be operated by a man wearing heavy gloves; and was powered by engines which could operate equally well at sea level or at high altitude. I do not think any single piece of equipment was moved from Aden in April to La Paz in July and on to Winnipeg in January, or was moved in any other way which justified such over-specification. In 1958, when I was chief executive of Kuwait Airways, I bought fixed height demountable steps for the Vis count aircraft we then operated. Un known to me, my predecessor had ordered fully adjusting, hydraulically operated steps at high cost, and they spent the next two years as fixed steps. Later I did a study for a North American organisation which had a most impressive array of self- propelled, fully adjusting passenger steps. They were all parked out in lots, each set to suit a specific door of a specific aircraft. Rarely were they adjusted and used against a different door or a different aircraft, and frequently they stayed immobile against an aircraft for several hours. With simpler equipment the job could have been done equally well at a fraction of the cost. More importantly, do- we need to hangar a whole 747 when it would be more efficient to treat environmentally the part or parts on which staff are to work? I still foresee a day when there will be Controllers of Waste as understood by Mr Holl and myself. They will eliminate unnecessary refinements at the outset, rather than be involved in selling off, usually at a loss, things which were probably unnecessary, in the real sense, in the first place. c/o Clarke's Stores HARRY H. PUSEY Exeter Road Braunton North Devon The fare war is unhealthy SIR—In your editorial of November 1, 1980, you state: "There is no question about Nott's personal commitment to increased airline competition." Oh dear! I thought perhaps he had learnt something from his Hong Kong efforts. Within a few months of stating that the route would support three airlines, he had to raid British Airways' routes once again to shore up the new services. Most knowledgeable observers accept that the present fare war is not healthy competition but a game of elimination; the losers go out of busi ness. To continue to widen the conflict can only have one aim, to ensure only the strong survive to give a cheap, efficient, profitable service. In biologi cal experiments this is called "con test" competition. If a number of animals is given a daily supply of food less than that required for all to live, under contest competition the strong eat their fill and the others soon die. But there is another form of competition, namely "scramble." In this case all the animals fight for the food and each gets an equal share, but not enough. Eventually all die at the same time, even if the food supply remains con stant. The resultant uneaten food is then available to other species that may happen along. If all British airlines fail together, there are plenty of others ready to share the cake. Tylers r. INSOLE Kippington Road Sevenoaks Kent Comet swansong SIR—Further to your recent photo graph of one of the last remaining Dan-Air Comets with a Boeing 727 of the same carrier (Flight, November 1, 1980, page 1674), I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Viscount Preservation Trust for the recent Comet flight from Gatwick. This event took place on Sunday, October 26, and the flight over the south of England on board Comet 4C G-BDIW lasted over an hour. Capt Selby and his crew did everything in their power to make the flight enjoy able and interesting, and it served as a fine tribute to this great aircraft. 160 Westridge Road ' T. NOONE Kings Heath Birmingham B13 0ED
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